Shared success with northern businesses
Cameco celebrated a new milestone in 2026 - more than $5 billion spent with northern Saskatchewan businesses since 2004. In this video, representatives from Cameco and our Preferred Northern Contractors reflect on what the achievement means to them.
At Cameco, we know we can’t achieve our vision of powering a secure energy future alone. Every day our operations rely on the services of northern and Indigenous owned businesses, from transportation to camp services, catering to drilling, construction and exploration, we depend on the services provided by businesses in northern Saskatchewan.
Our relationships have grown into a network of Preferred Northern Contractors (PNCs) that support Cameco’s operations in the north and beyond. These businesses are playing an essential role in helping us operate safely, reliably and successfully, while creating lasting economic benefits in northern communities.
The majority of Cameco’s mining operations spending is with northern contractors, a reflection of the company’s long-standing commitment to maximizing benefits for the people and communities where it operates.
Together, we have achieved true partnerships built on shared success and mutual growth. And in 2026, we celebrated a significant milestone: more than $5 billion spent with northern Saskatchewan and Indigenous-owned businesses since 2004.
The $5 billion reflects countless hours of hard work performed by contractors supporting Cameco, and the long-term opportunities that have helped our PNCs to become sustainable businesses that compete successfully across the industry.
“It's nice to have a milestone like this,” Key Lake General Manager Daley McIntyre says.
“It gives you a minute to think and reflect. It's not always that we reflect on the fact that when we come to work every week, we count on a safe flight and air carrier to bring us here. We count on clean beds and good food. We count on all the materials and supplies that we need to keep the operation running safely.
“We know that the work required to keep our assets reliable and ready for the long term is going to be there and available for us when we need it. And all of this really is thanks to the Preferred Northern Contractors that we have a really long relationship with.”
The partnership between Cameco and PNCs has also contributed to increased economic opportunity across northern Saskatchewan, particularly in Indigenous communities.
“Out of that $5 billion, approximately $300 million went to Team Drilling for work,” Team Drilling Limited Partnership President/CEO Bob Fleming says.
“Up to 35% and in some cases 45% of our workers are Indigenous – that are from either the Athabasca Basin region or English River First Nation. Their wages go back into their communities, and it’s turned out to be quite a bit.
“The other thing is that we do make a profit and 50% of our profit goes back into the Indigenous groups in the Athabasca Basin, and that's to support the seven communities there. It’s so valuable to us to have that support from Cameco to keep us working on their sites.”
Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel is clear, however, that this isn’t the end of the story.
“We’re not going to stop,” he says. “We’ve got a lot of opportunity ahead of us, and we’re proud to keep building that future alongside our northern partners.”